Few Line Up For New Verizon iPhone

Despite years of anticipation for Verizon Wireless customers wanting the popular iPhone 4, reports were surprised to see that very few people waited in line Thursday morning to buy it.

Fifteen minutes before the phone went on sale, eight people were in line at Apple's flagship store in New York, according to CNNMoney. Down the street, about a dozen people waited in line at a Verizon Wireless store.

And in Atlanta, Georgia, slightly more than a dozen stood in line outside a Verizon store to get the new phone. One of them, Lena Hill, 22, brought food and blankets at 6:15 a.m., expecting to have to camp out in a line to get the device. There wasn't a line, so Hill just waited in her car.

By contrast, thousands have lined up for the release of previous Apple products, including the initial launch of the iPhone 4 in June. In the past, many shoppers have even slept outside all night to ensure being among the first to get a new Apple gadget.

The Verizon iPhone's hardware is similar to the existing iPhone -- the big difference being that it works on Verizon's network instead of AT&T, which has had exclusive rights as the iPhone's wireless carrier since 2007.

The new iPhone went on sale at 7 a.m. Thursday at Verizon and Apple stores, at Best Buy and on the retailer's websites. With a two-year contract, it retails for $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model.